Robert I. Chester

Robert I. Chester (31 July 1793-14 January 1892) was a two-term member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (D).

Biography
Robert I. Chester was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on 31 July 1793, and he was raised in Jonesboro in eastern Tennessee. Chester served as the quartermaster of a US Army infantry regiment during the War of 1812, and he went into the tobacco business after the war; he joined the Freemasons in 1817 and also became a "Knight Templar". In 1822, he became surveyor for Smith County, and he served as Postmaster of Jackson from 1825 to 1833. From 1835 to 1836, he served in the Texian Army under Sam Houston during the Republic of Texas' revolution against Mexico, and he returned to Jackson in 1836. The next year, he was appointed US Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee, and he became involved with Democratic Party politics. All four of his sons fought for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, and Chester lost a fortune, including his slaves. From 1870 to 1874, he served in the State House of Representatives, and he was one of the Tennessee Democratic electors during the 1884 presidential primaries. Chester died in 1892 at the age of 98.